The press on and off 3-day protest in Delhi went in vain

By Tendar Tsering

Nine Tibetans in Tibet self-immolated in Tibet in last few months, calling for freedom and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Tibetan parliamentarians and Tibetans whole over the world went on fasting even the Dalai Lama also joined the Tibetan global fast, asking for international intervention to end the on going self-immolation crisis by pressurizing the Chinese government to address the real plight of people inside Tibet.

Yet, all the governments remained silent spectators except few diplomatic comments on the issue, and non of the media in India and abroad covered enough the protests and fast in the Indian capital city Delhi.

The German Foreign Ministry spokesperson in a press release on Friday urged the Chinese government to change its policies inside Tibet but indirectly blamed the Dalai Lama also for inciting and beautifying the self-immolation crisis inside Tibet.

However, the Tibetan parliament in exile hailed the 3-day-protest and 24 hours fast in the Indian capital as a success, and called off the gathering of thousands of Tibetans who have come there from different Tibetan settlements in India, Nepal and Bhutan with much determination and emotionally fully charged.

The three-day press on and off protest in Delhi jointly organized by the Tibetan cabinet and parliament in exile either looks like China disguised in a Tibetan protest to keep the Tibetan masses satisfied, and avoid any further protest or speaks of lack of strategical skills of the Tibetan government in exile.

It is a sad thing that Tibetan government in exile called Tibetans to gather there and then asked to leave after a press on and off protest. This is not the first time button on and off protest, one has done by the Non Governmental Tibetan Organizations in 2008 where a gathering of one hundred thousand Tibetans were asked to disperse after traveling for days from Nepal, Bhutan, and from across the world.

Tibetans have to learn from their past mistakes and has to strategize every protest. So, here the oracles of journalism might can do miracles if Tibetans can master the skill of journalism.

Be it the power of press or skill of using the media, it is totally a dead journalism in our Tibetan community.

Being refugees, we don't have any journalism schools, nor have any journalism leaders. We have a few bunch of journalists but untrained, and powerless press people.

The administration of our Tibetan government in exile is heavily rested in the hands of our fathers and fore fathers who are doubtful and over cautious in nature.

They are the generation who feel much gratitude to the Indian government and world in general than demanding for the rights of Tibetans to enjoy as any human being can, should and supposed to enjoy.
They are the generation who always stick to the old saying "ask what you can do, not ask what they can do for you," even in this 21st century where rights and duties go hand in hand.

Not many months ago, around one thousand Tibetans were facing difficulty in renewing their RC (resdential certificate), and a Tibetan journalist is said to have approached the Department of Security, and Department of International Information and Relationship to ask what the journalists in the Tibetan community can do to solve the RC problem, and the over cautious officers in the Tibetan government in exile have asked the journalist not to write about the RC if possible.

Tibetan officers in the exile government are generally not only coward and over cautious but some times they do under value the Tibetan youngsters and under value their own press in the community.

Unlike anywhere in the world, journalism in the Tibetan community has a great role to play be it in its freedom struggle or building a healthy and strong exile community.

Sadly, journalism in Tibetan community is not really dead but yet to born.

World talk about super specializations, but we don't have even specialized journalists. Almost all are untrained and timid journalists bond by the orders and restrictions of our heads in the community.

Last year, a frenzy of Indian media speculation highlighted the karmapa scam and called a link to Chinese spy. It is a result of our government's action in under valuing our own press, and chocking our press people to death and dust. Our media people even fear to ask questions to the Dalai Lama, and unnecessarily fear to criticize our government.

Our government has to free our media if it wants to free Tibet, and our people have to realize the power of press if we want to success in our freedom struggle. Press is the only solution to get world wide support to free Tibet from the political jaws of Chinese government.

Tibetans are scattered whole over the world, and we don't have any common platform to share our ideas and feelings. We don't even have a common hall to gather together nor have common reliable newspaper to read about each other, about Tibet and about our community. Tibetans in India read Indian news papers, so are Tibetans in US, Europe, Australia or anywhere in the world. So, new media, 'website' is the only news site or paper accessable to all the Tibetans whole over the world.

The scope of news websites in our Tibetan community is so big and demand for journalism is so high as the role of journalism in our freedom struggle is above our measurement.

Journalism is the watch dog of the society. From chief minister to the police office, every body is under the press. As the press has the access to anywhere and any one else, it acts as a police, and as a spy.

Last month, US experts said that Chinese government used to send lots of spies in the name of journalists to US and else to spy on the respective countries and report back to China.

However, in the name of refuge and exile, our government excuses itself and doesn't own a paper nor a television, instead it under values the independent media in our community.

Stay tuned to Tibet Telegraph, in next part the author will highlight the Oracles of journalism that can do miracles in our society, and how to challenge our exile government to challenge China.

1 comment:

I really appreciate your concept of freedom of Press in our Tibetan community. We the younger generation of Tibetan should give efforts in bringing brilliance in the field of journalism. I am pleased to go through your articles and i hope to hear more on the issue based on our struggle for Tibet.